Oceans May Lurk Beneath the Surface of Saturn’s Moon

By Karen Kosko

03-24-2008

Scientists have speculated that the building blocks of life might not exist on any of our neighboring planets, but could be present on some of the moons that circle those planets.

Now NASA reports that radar waves it has sent through the heavy methane atmosphere of Titan, a moon orbiting Saturn, detect a shift in landmarks by as much as 19 miles.

Researchers who have studied the data say that can only happen if the moon’s crust is floating above the core. They speculate that beneath Titan’s surface is a vast underground ocean made up of both water and ammonia.

In a statement released by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Brian Stiles said, “We believe that about 62 miles beneath the ice and organic-rich surface is an internal ocean of liquid water mixed with ammonia.”

That is interesting to scientists because they believe Titan’s frozen surface may hold many of the same chemical compounds in existence on Earth in the years before human life prevailed.

Titan is also the only moon in the solar system capable of holding its own dense atmosphere.

Photo from NASA web site